Buffy Calendar

[lembergwatcher]

November 2

1957 - Michael Bailey Smith, an American actor and business development manager who played Toth in S.05E.03 The Replacement.

[Halting Hex]

Also known for playing Belthazor, the demonic form of Cole (Julian McMahon), on Charmed.  So not big on the speaking roles, but definitely a physical presence.

[lembergwatcher]

November 3

1958 - Michael Merton, an American actor, screenwriter and director who appeared as Mr. Savitsky in S.06E.04 Flooded.

[lembergwatcher]

November 5

1937 - Harris Yulin, an American actor who portrayed Quentin Travers in three eps of Buffy (S.03E.12 Helpless, S.05E.12 Checkpoint, S.07E.09 Never Leave Me).

 

1949 - Armin Shimerman, an American actor who played Principal Snyder throughout seasons 1-3 and in the fourth season's finale.

 

 

 

[Halting Hex]

Yulin keeps rolling along, I see:  a run on Ozark, an episode of Murphy Brown, an episode of For the People when that comes back next year.  Not bad for just turning 81.

Whereas Armin's mostly doing voice work these days.  Not there's any shame in that, of course.

Yulin in the Season 4 Law & Order episode, "Big Bang", the only Mothership episode I know based largely on theoretical physics.  I'll take "Proton decay" for $1000, Alex.

[Joe Hellandback]

11 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Yulin keeps rolling along, I see:  a run on Ozark, an episode of Murphy Brown, an episode of For the People when that comes back next year.  Not bad for just turning 81.

Whereas Armin's mostly doing voice work these days.  Not there's any shame in that, of course.

Yulin in the Season 4 Law & Order episode, "Big Bang", the only Mothership episode I know based largely on theoretical physics.  I'll take "Proton decay" for $1000, Alex.

He's really useful for Six-degrees-of-bufferation, been in everything with everyone. 

[lembergwatcher]

November 6

1972 - George Hertzberg, an American actor who portrayed Adam in eight eps of season 4 and First Evil in S.07E.01 Lessons.

[lembergwatcher]

November 8

1968 - Bruno Gioiello (aka Bruno Gunn), an American actor who appeared as Captured Bringer in S.07E.20 Touched.

 

1979 - Dania Ramirez, a Dominican-American television and film actress who played Caridad in three eps of seventh season (Dirty Girls, Touched, End of Days).

 

1981 - Azura Skye (b. Azura Dawn Storozynski), an American actress who portrayed Cassie Newton/First Evil in S.07E.04 Help and S.07E.07 Conversations With Dead People.

[Halting Hex]

2 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

1979 - Dania Ramirez, a Dominican-American television and film actress who played Caridad in three eps of seventh season (Dirty Girls, Touched, End of Days).

But not Chosen, thus proving that Caridad was the smartest Junior Miss of them all, since she beat feet out of town, rather than sticking around for Buffy's "bloody barmy" plan.

Dania of course went on to play Maya the Craya in Heroes and Callisto in X-Men 3, thus linking those universes to the Buffyverse in any six degrees game.

[lembergwatcher]

6 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

But not Chosen, thus proving that Caridad was the smartest Junior Miss of them all, since she beat feet out of town, rather than sticking around for Buffy's "bloody barmy" plan.

I doubt very much that the Ray Charles Brigade would've let her get out of town alive.

[Joe Hellandback]

17 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

November 8

1968 - Bruno Gioiello (aka Bruno Gunn), an American actor who appeared as Captured Bringer in S.07E.20 Touched.

 

1979 - Dania Ramirez, a Dominican-American television and film actress who played Caridad in three eps of seventh season (Dirty Girls, Touched, End of Days).

 

1981 - Azura Skye (b. Azura Dawn Storozynski), an American actress who portrayed Cassie Newton/First Evil in S.07E.04 Help and S.07E.07 Conversations With Dead People.

I know it goes without saying but boy Buffy had some pretty girls!

[lembergwatcher]

November 11

1948 - Vincent Schiavelli (d. 2005), an American actor who portrayed Enyos Kalderash in S.02E.13 Surprise and S.02E.14 Innocence.

[Halting Hex]

Saw Vincent once; we were leaving the premiere of some movie at the Fox Theater in Westwood.  Don't remember the film offhand, though.

[Joe Hellandback]

9 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

November 11

1948 - Vincent Schiavelli (d. 2005), an American actor who portrayed Enyos Kalderash in S.02E.13 Surprise and S.02E.14 Innocence.

Another great actor for Six Degree of Bufferation, I didn't know he'd died. Especially memorable in The X-files, Humbug. 

[lembergwatcher]

November 16

1968 - James Parks, an American actor who played Tector Gorch in S.02E.12 Bad Eggs.

[Halting Hex]

Best known as the Texas Ranger in Kill Bill.  So Uma Thurman and company get a Buffy-ration number of "2".

Edited November 16, 2018 by Halting Hex

[Joe Hellandback]

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Best known as the Texas Ranger in Kill Bill.  So Uma Thurman and company get a Buffy-ration number of "2".

He's in lots of Tarantino stuff, one of his rep players. 

[lembergwatcher]

November 17

1972 - Leonard Roberts, an American actor who portrayed Forrest Gates throughout season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Also played with Eliza Dushku in an episode of Tru Calling.

[Joe Hellandback]

11 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

November 17

1972 - Leonard Roberts, an American actor who portrayed Forrest Gates throughout season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Also played with Eliza Dushku in an episode of Tru Calling.

That's right, the bachelor party ep. He's done very well, he played a very Forrest like character in American Sniper (written by Jason Hall aka Devon) and is excellent in American Crime Story.  

[Halting Hex]

And, of course, criminally underused on Heroes.  The decision to, er, phase him out in S2 was as bad as keeping Sylar around, IMO.

[lembergwatcher]

November 18

1961 - Nick Chinlund, an American actor who played Major Ellis in S.05E.09 Listening to Fear and S.05E.10 Into the Woods.

 

1970 - Elizabeth Anne Allen, an American actress who portrayed Amy Madison in eight episodes of Buffy (seasons 1-4, 6-7).

[Joe Hellandback]

10 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

November 18

1961 - Nick Chinlund, an American actor who played Major Ellis in S.05E.09 Listening to Fear and S.05E.10 Into the Woods.

 

1970 - Elizabeth Anne Allen, an American actress who portrayed Amy Madison in eight episodes of Buffy (seasons 1-4, 6-7).

Shame EAA seems to have given up acting.  

[Halting Hex]

Chinlund played utter assholes twice on Law & Order (once as a defense attorney, the other time as a journalist who'd been shot upon returning from overseas duty), but damn, did their cinematographers know how to make him look pretty:

Quote

JACK McCOY: What's the jury going to think when they learn that you changed your plea from "she didn't do it" to "she did do it but she was insane at the time"? 

BARRY PECK: They're going to think Megan Parnell is a young woman of tragic circumstances, and I have beautiful eyes.

Chinlund's first episode ("Endurance", ep 11.01) was Dianne Wiest's first episode as D.A., replacing Stephen Hill.  At the start of the episode, NY mayor Rudy Giuliani guests as himself, welcoming Wiest's "Nora Lewin" to her new job.

As Giuliani would go on to appear in several 2016 Republican Party Presidential Debates with various other political hopefuls, this means that all of them, including President Donald Trump, get a Buffy number of 3.

(For those who don't like the real world intruding into their "six degrees games", my apologies.  Would this be a good time to note that I once did a "degrees" that connected my least-favorite person with the monogram of "A.H." [take a guess] to Alyson Hannigan?  I think it took four steps, IIRC.)

Edited November 18, 2018 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

November 20

1971 - Christopher Leps, an American stuntman and actor who did stunts in 12 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seasons 3-5) and played Agent Goodman in S.05E.04 Out of My Mind.

 

1973 - Jonathan Mark Woodward, an American actor who portrayed Holden Webster in Buffy's S.07E.07 Conversations with Dead People and Knox in Angel's S.04E.22 Home + in six more eps of the fifth season. He is one of only five actors to appear in the first three series created by Joss Whedon.

[lembergwatcher]

November 21

1958 - David Reivers, a Jamaican actor who appeared as foreman in S.05E.03 The Replacement.

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎18‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 10:43 AM, Halting Hex said:

Chinlund played utter assholes twice on Law & Order (once as a defense attorney, the other time as a journalist who'd been shot upon returning from overseas duty), but damn, did their cinematographers know how to make him look pretty:

Chinlund's first episode ("Endurance", ep 11.01) was Dianne Wiest's first episode as D.A., replacing Stephen Hill.  At the start of the episode, NY mayor Rudy Giuliani guests as himself, welcoming Wiest's "Nora Lewin" to her new job.

As Giuliani would go on to appear in several 2016 Republican Party Presidential Debates with various other political hopefuls, this means that all of them, including President Donald Trump, get a Buffy number of 3.

(For those who don't like the real world intruding into their "six degrees games", my apologies.  Would this be a good time to note that I once did a "degrees" that connected my least-favorite person with the monogram of "A.H." [take a guess] to Alyson Hannigan?  I think it took four steps, IIRC.)

The mind boggles!

I still watch SVU which is now in its' 20th season, equalling the 'mothership', rather amazing as the show and especially Olivia Benson annoys so many of us these days. Looks like it will actually make it to 21 seasons, beating Gunsmoke as the longest running drama ever.  

[lembergwatcher]

November 22

1967 - Erik Betts, an American martial artist and stunt actor who portrayed several characters in the seven episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seasons 5-7) including Agent Brown in S.05E.04 Out of My Mind. He also potrayed the Keeper of the Name in Angel's S.04E.21 Peace Out.

[Halting Hex]

On 11/21/2018 at 12:29 AM, Joe Hellandback said:

I still watch SVU which is now in its' 20th season, equalling the 'mothership', rather amazing as the show and especially Olivia Benson annoys so many of us these days. Looks like it will actually make it to 21 seasons, beating Gunsmoke as the longest running drama ever.  

Which would also give Mariska Hargitay the record for most seasons playing a single fictional character in a lead role.  (James Arness played Marshal Matt Dillon for all 20 seasons of Gunsmoke; Kelsey Grammer spent 20 years as Dr. Frasier Crane, but only 11 of those were as a lead.)  Although Richard Belzer has the overall record, having spent seven seasons as John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street, and S1-S15 on SVU, for a total of 22 years in that role.  (Not counting numerous guest shots on numerous networks.)

Why are we discussing this here?  Because while Mariska still has work to do to reach the all-time record of 27 seasons in the main credited cast of various shows (held by Michael Landon for Bonanza [14], Little House on the Prairie [8], and Highway to Heaven [5] along with Harry Morgan [a whole bunch of shorter roles, most notably 10 seasons as Col. Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H* and its spinoff), she's not the only one gunning for that record.  

(Albeit it should be noted that Mariska is closer than we think; in addition 20 years as Det. Benson, she put in one season's duty on Falcon Crest, way back when, and was also main cast in the flops Tequila & Bonetti [where her daughter was played by a young Troian Bellisario], Can't Hurry Love, and Prince Street. [Yes, that last one only ever shot six episodes and only got two broadcast before getting cancelled, but it still counts as a "season".]  So Mariska's already at 24 seasons and counting.)

But the dark horse for this record is of course our own Dark Revenger, David Boreanaz.  To date, David has added this to his resume:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 2 seasons (remember, Angel is only recurring in S1)

• Angel, 5 seasons

• Bones, 12 seasons (to quote Xander:  "How? What? How?")

• SEAL Team, 2 seasons so far.

So that's 21 and counting for David.  Not bad for a guy who wasn't exactly hired for his acting skills, back in 1996.

(Alyson Hannigan still also could make a run, having banked that one season of The Torkelsons back when she was a kid, in addition to 7 years of BtVS and 9 of How I Met Your Mother, for a total of 17 so far.  But she's squandered the past five years on hosting Penn & Teller:  Fool Us, so she's fallen a bit off of the pace.  Still, all it would take is one more big hit…)

Edited November 23, 2018 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

November 28

1955 - Rif Hutton, an American actor who played General in S.07E.13 The Killer in Me.

[Melancholy]

On 11/18/2018 at 5:43 AM, Halting Hex said:

Would this be a good time to note that I once did a "degrees" that connected my least-favorite person with the monogram of "A.H." [take a guess] to Alyson Hannigan?  I think it took four steps, IIRC.)

Adolf Hitler?

[Halting Hex]

Yep.  Der Führer was in Olympia, Lena Reifenstahl's documentary of the 1936 Olympics, and at least two of the athletes from that quadrennial competition at least dipped their toe in the acting waters (the decathlon champion, Glenn Cunningham, played Tarzan) and so you can link that way.  (Or you can just use Hitler's appearance in archive footage in Woody Allen's Zelig, of course, but IMO that's cheating.)

[lembergwatcher]

November 29

1956 - Hinton Battle, an American actor, dancer, and dance instructor who portrayed musical demon Sweet in S.06E.07 One More, with Feeling.

 

[lembergwatcher]

November 30

1956 - Lily Knight, an American actress who played Gronx in S.05E.20 Spiral and S.05E.21 The Weight of the World.

 

1962 - Mark Deakins, an American television, film, and voice-over actor who voiced Moloch the Corruptor in S.01E.08 I Robot, You Jane.

 

 

1970 - Walter Emanuel Jones, an American actor who portrayed Edward in S.04E.04 Fear, Itself.

 

1972 - Christophe Beck (date approximate), a Canadian television and film score composer, whose work included original score for 58 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seasons 2-6) and 22 episodes of Angel (season 1). Beck has also made an appearance in Buffy's S.04E.22 Restless.

 

1973 - Fab Filippo (b. Fabrizio Filippo), a Canadian actor who portrayed Scott Hope in three eps of the third season (Faith, Hope & Trick, Beauty and the Beasts, Homecoming).

[lembergwatcher]

December 5

1931 - Jack Jozefson (b. Jack Joseph Auerbach), an American actor who appeared as Rusty in S.06E.09 Smashed.

 

1971 - Kali Rocha, an American actress who portrayed Halfrek/Cecily in six episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (seasons 5-7).

Edited December 5, 2018 by lembergwatcher

[lembergwatcher]

December 6

1978 - K.D. Aubert (b. Karen Denise Aubert), an American actress and model who played Nikki Wood in S.07E.14 First Date and S.07E.17 Lies My Parents Told Me.

[Joe Hellandback]

18 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

December 6

1978 - K.D. Aubert (b. Karen Denise Aubert), an American actress and model who played Nikki Wood in S.07E.14 First Date and S.07E.17 Lies My Parents Told Me.

Wow, so much better looking without the Afro!

[lembergwatcher]

December 7

1969 - Erika Amato, an American singer and actress and a founding member of the band Velvet Chain who appeared in S.01E.05 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date.

 

[lembergwatcher]

December 10

1951 - David Wells, an American actor who played the Cheese Man in S.04E.22 Restless and S.07E.16 Storyteller.

[Halting Hex]

Wow, I have such non-interest in Storyteller that I'd forgotten the Cheese Man made a return appearance there.  So he's a recurring character, rather than a once-off.  Huh.

[lembergwatcher]

I didn't remember that fact either. Until recently :)

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎10‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 12:04 AM, Halting Hex said:

Wow, I have such non-interest in Storyteller that I'd forgotten the Cheese Man made a return appearance there.  So he's a recurring character, rather than a once-off.  Huh.

Really? It's such a pivotal ep?

[Halting Hex]

Pivotal in making us hate the writers for wasting a crucial late-season episode on a fucking tertiary joke character?

I mean, the end of the episode would have us believe that Andrew has shown character growth, that he's moved beyond "telling stories"…but what is the very next plot-significant thing Andrew does?  He gives a recap of Faith's exploits (complete with a clip show!) and then tells a story where she killed a Vulcan, despite the fact that even Andrew must know that Vulcans are not real.  But storytellers gotta tell stories, ya dig?  If the facts aren't cool enough, invent cooler facts…

And on the practical tip, supposedly Andy's guilty tears close the Seal.  Except that End of Days shows us that the First is still able to summon (tiny, cute, useless) Übervamps, so that's pointless, too.  (Maybe they took the stairs?)

[Loandbehold]

7 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Really? It's such a pivotal ep?

 

5 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Pivotal in making us hate the writers for wasting a crucial late-season episode on a fucking tertiary joke character?

I mean, the end of the episode would have us believe that Andrew has shown character growth, that he's moved beyond "telling stories"…but what is the very next plot-significant thing Andrew does?  He gives a recap of Faith's exploits (complete with a clip show!) and then tells a story where she killed a Vulcan, despite the fact that even Andrew must know that Vulcans are not real.  But storytellers gotta tell stories, ya dig?  If the facts aren't cool enough, invent cooler facts…

And on the practical tip, supposedly Andy's guilty tears close the Seal.  Except that End of Days shows us that the First is still able to summon (tiny, cute, useless) Übervamps, so that's pointless, too.  (Maybe they took the stairs?)

To add on to this, there is nothing in that episode that is necessary for the story. Andrew is not necessary for any research or demon knowledge. Willow, Giles, and by this time, even Dawn are more than capable. Moreover, there is no evidence that it's Andrew's tears that are needed. Buffy just said that [the Seal] wanted tears instead of blood. So anybody could have cried over it. So the entire episode could be stricken from the series w/o losing anything. Plus, if you take out the most useless and unfunny character, that's a huge bonus.

[Joe Hellandback]

21 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Pivotal in making us hate the writers for wasting a crucial late-season episode on a fucking tertiary joke character?

I mean, the end of the episode would have us believe that Andrew has shown character growth, that he's moved beyond "telling stories"…but what is the very next plot-significant thing Andrew does?  He gives a recap of Faith's exploits (complete with a clip show!) and then tells a story where she killed a Vulcan, despite the fact that even Andrew must know that Vulcans are not real.  But storytellers gotta tell stories, ya dig?  If the facts aren't cool enough, invent cooler facts…

And on the practical tip, supposedly Andy's guilty tears close the Seal.  Except that End of Days shows us that the First is still able to summon (tiny, cute, useless) Übervamps, so that's pointless, too.  (Maybe they took the stairs?)

Andrew turns from Warren's evil lackey 'KILL HER! KILL HER!' to a hero who fights and helps the good guys, that's quite a step. 

15 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

 

To add on to this, there is nothing in that episode that is necessary for the story. Andrew is not necessary for any research or demon knowledge. Willow, Giles, and by this time, even Dawn are more than capable. Moreover, there is no evidence that it's Andrew's tears that are needed. Buffy just said that [the Seal] wanted tears instead of blood. So anybody could have cried over it. So the entire episode could be stricken from the series w/o losing anything. Plus, if you take out the most useless and unfunny character, that's a huge bonus.

He cries not in fear and pain but in genuine regret, we find Andrew's emotional core here. 

[lembergwatcher]

Rob DesHotel, veteran TV-writer and producer who worked on the first two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as story editor and executive story editor), died recently of a suspected heart attack. His writing credits include: Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, The Puppet Show, The Dark Age, Phases, Killed by Death (all written with Dean Batali).
https://deadline.com/2018/12/rob-deshotel-dies-tv-writer-producer-man-with-a-plan-that-70s-show-age-52-1202518166/

[Loandbehold]

7 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

He cries not in fear and pain but in genuine regret, we find Andrew's emotional core here. 

I don't care about Andrew's "emotional core." It's still not necessary for the plot of how to close the seal. And, for me, nothing about this episode changes Andrew from being an annoying, unfunny, and completely useless character. If they truly had to inflict Andrew on us, the least they could have done was had his "emotional core" appear at the second of his untimely death*.

* Untimely in the sense of he never should have been on the show, or, if he was, he should have been killed right after his first line.

[Halting Hex]

8 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

Andrew turns from Warren's evil lackey 'KILL HER! KILL HER!' to a hero who fights and helps the good guys, that's quite a step. 

Unless this is The Andrew Wells Show, Andrew's (purported) personal reform and character growth is only relevant for how it fits into the larger story.  As his contribution to the final battle consists of having Anya get sliced to pieces protecting him and surviving by pretending to be dead, I'd say that's a big "no" on his relevance.

Now, they could have had Andrew be of importance by having the Amulet of Assitude end up being worn by an (ensouled) demon he had summoned, solving the problem of closing the Hellmouth by using the skills Andrew had already demonstrated.  But as this would have made Andrew important and kept us from having Spike burn to death, never to return (remember, Angel "Season 5" is just a bad dream…), I'm rather glad it didn't happen this way, superior plot mechanics aside.

[Halting Hex]

4 hours ago, lembergwatcher said:

Rob DesHotel, veteran TV-writer and producer who worked on the first two seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as story editor and executive story editor), died recently of a suspected heart attack. His writing credits include: Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, The Puppet Show, The Dark Age, Phases, Killed by Death (all written with Dean Batali).
https://deadline.com/2018/12/rob-deshotel-dies-tv-writer-producer-man-with-a-plan-that-70s-show-age-52-1202518166/

52?  Oh, come on now!  His Man with a Plan star, Matt LeBlanc, turned 51 in July!  "How you (not) doin', Rob?"  Sigh.

(In other Man with a Plan news, Season 3 is shooting now, and will premiere on February 4.  Kali Rocha [Halfrek], who had been recurring, has been upped to regular.)

(And in other extended Buffyverse news, CBS apparently cancelled my summer pleasure, Salvation, putting stars Santiago Cabrera [who was in Heroes with Leonard Roberts], Jennifer Finnigan [who played Christian Kane's wife for two seasons on Close to Home] and Ian Anthony Dale [who was in the same episodes of Charmed as Charisma] all out of work.  And ensuring that we won't get any more episodes where Liam [Charlie Rowe] convinces his despairing cohorts that humanity is worth saving by cuing up George Harrison's "What Is Life?" and asking "Could a T-Rex do that?" as the opening guitar riff played out.  [My favorite TV moment of 2018*.  Oh, well.])

Spoiler

*Completely OT:  I replayed the end of that episode so many times that I ended up noticing that Rush totally stole that riff for the opening of "Limelight".  Canadians…can't trust them.  Ask Graham. ;) 

[lembergwatcher]

5 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

he never should have been on the show

Someone probably told those writing geniuses from TeamJoss they couldn't (ab)use Xander as cliched "comic relief" forever. So they decided to introduce another "funny" loser but due to significant drop in quality of writing couldn't come up with a better character then mega-annoying Andrew.

[lembergwatcher]

December 14

1959 - Debbie Lee Carrington (d. 2018), an American actress and stuntwoman, who appeared as Creature in S.05E.09 Listening to Fear.